A Lot Like Love
by inmyownwordsx
Summary: She'd never been concerned with it being special, but the aftermath of a one night stand leaves her wondering what exactly she might have missed out on the first time around. Now, with two guys prepared to go to war over her and a betrayed ex-best friend on her conscience, Kaitlyn is struggling to make it through her freshman year in one piece.
1. Bad Girls and Good Girls

I just want to say now that the opinions expressed in this opening chapter on what some would call a sensitive topic do not reflect my own feelings. It's all for your enjoyment! That said, welcome to A Lot Like Love, a Kaitlyn-centric story. I hope you like what you find.

***  
Bad Girls and Good Girls**

'You okay?'

'No, I'm not okay.'

Kaitlyn felt an overwhelming sense of self as she looked up at the building before her. It was high, six or seven floors, and each one was packed full of dorm rooms. Hers included. She felt tiny against the back drop of the campus, with all the students wandering around looking for their new rooms, their new friends and their new lives. Kaitlyn, meanwhile, was still having some trouble getting over the threshold. She turned to her mother.

'Is that everything, then?'

'All your stuff is up there, except for this box.' Her mother pulled it from the trunk of the car and handed it to her. It had small things in it; some pictures and records, among other things. 'You have to go in sometime, kiddo.'

Kaitlyn swallowed.

'What are you afraid of?'

'Just give me a minute,' said Kaitlyn, looking at her mother, then at their car. 'Aren't we gonna say goodbye?'

'Come here,' said her mother, hugging her as best she could with the box in the way. 'You're gonna do great. Just have fun.'

'Okay,' said Kaitlyn as they parted.

She waved her mother off, then turned back to the building before her. Putting the box on the ground, she began searching her pockets for her keys, panicking momentarily when she struggled to find them. Her mother had put them in the box for her. Putting them safely in the front pocket of her jacket, she picked up the box again and took a step forward.

As she walked, it occurred to her that she hadn't spoken to any of her home friends for the better part of the summer. Derrick had started an apprenticeship and they'd texted a few times, but they hadn't talked face to face since graduation. Johnny was off doing God knows what with God knows who. As for AJ… well, that was better left where it was.

She came to the front door and pushed it open, then climbed four flights of stairs to find her dorm. She unlocked the door and was greeted by silence. Surprised, she looked around. She'd expected her new roommate to be in there already, unpacked and with a buzzing smile. But there was no one, not yet. Kaitlyn put the last box with the others, and while her boxes filled half of the room she felt that feeling again, of being very small against everything else.

About an hour later, when she was storing the last of her clothes in her dresser, there was a knock at the door. She opened it with a hesitant smile; it might have been someone trying to get her to sign up to something.

Instead it was just a guy. A handsome guy handing out flyers for a party that night.

'Hi,' he said, smiling at her.

'Hey.'

'You like parties?'

'Depends on the party.'

He gave her a flyer. She eyed it warily, then looked back at him. He looked as though he could sense her discomfort, and he stuck out a hand.

'I'm Michael Mizanin,' he said. 'But you can call me Mike.'

'I'm Kaitlyn.'

'Nice to meet you, Kaitlyn. So you think you'll come tonight?'

She shrugged.

'What else could you possibly be doing on the first night of freshman year?'

'How'd you know I'm a freshman?'

'I didn't.'

'Huh. And you?'

'Sophomore,' he said. 'So will you come?'

Kaitlyn took another look at the flyer. It promised 'all out awesomeness'.

'How can I refuse?' she mocked. 'Maybe.'

'I'll see you there,' he said, giving her a lasting smile.

'I said maybe. And I'm gonna call you Miz, by the way.'

'Get there around ten,' he said, before moving along the hallway. 'Make some friends, have some drinks, just have fun.'

Kaitlyn closed the door behind her, happy to be back in the safety of her room. She pinned the flyer to her notice board and regarded it once more, remembering her mother's words; _just have fun_. She folded her arms, inwardly debating going, before deciding that taking a walk around the campus grounds to familiarize herself with it would be a good thing to do before arriving at the party. That way, when she left the party early because it sucked she'd know her way back. If she went, of course. She just didn't want to run into AJ.

Hours later, music began pumping from somewhere nearby and Kaitlyn winced at it. Dance music wasn't her favourite kind. She decided for tonight at least she wasn't in the mood to party, or even leave the dorm for a walk. She lay down on her bed, kicked off her shoes and reached for the nearest book. If her cousin's boyfriend Tyson could see her now, she knew exactly what he'd say.

'_Hardly the college type, are you?'_

And she knew what she'd say in return.

'_So there's only one type of college kid?'_

Kaitlyn rolled over and looked around the room, in particular at the empty bed on the other side of it. She'd been lucky enough to score a room on her own, but at the same time most of the other people on campus were making friends with their roommates already. While Kaitlyn didn't mind being on her own a lot of the time, it might have been nice to have someone other than her cousin on campus to hang out with now and then.

The music at the party got louder suddenly, as if beckoning her to join it. She pursed her lips. It wasn't as if she'd have to stay all night, and if it sucked she could just come back to her room and read her book.

She got off the bed and went over to her wardrobe. She went through each and every one of her things, from jeans to skirts to leggings and found nothing she wanted to wear, until she stumbled upon an old pair of faded grey skinny jeans. Nodding approvingly, she paired them with a sheer black shirt and put on her nicest black bra underneath. She slipped into some comfy black wedges, grabbed her keys and her phone, and then headed out for the night. Or at least for an hour.

* * *

Once she'd gotten to the apartment, she weaved through the crowd and found Miz sitting on one of the sofas, beautiful twins sitting either side of him. When he saw Kaitlyn he smiled, but she was already turning in the direction of the drinks table. Spying some Cola, she decided to start light and took a few sips.

A girl with bright red hair came up next to her and made up a drink; vodka and cranberry. When she saw Kaitlyn looking, she held out her hand.

'Hi,' said the girl. 'I'm Maria.' She had a sweet voice to match her pretty face.

'Kaitlyn.'

'You a freshman?'

Kaitlyn nodded.

'One of Mike's freshman girls,' Maria said, looking less than impressed at the boy where he sat. 'Watch yourself with that one.'

Kaitlyn frowned at the insinuation and Maria turned to leave, but she stopped.

'Sorry, that was rude,' said Maria. 'Are you here alone?'

Kaitlyn nodded and took a sip of her drink. 'I got put in a dorm but my roommate never showed up to school. Who knows,' she added when Maria looked concerned. Kaitlyn went on. 'Miz is the first guy I met here, when he was handing out invitations.'

'Poor you,' Maria joked.

'You're not a freshman? I gather from the way you talk about Miz that you know him pretty well, and he said he's a sophomore.'

'I'm a sophomore too, but I'm sitting with some freshman. Want me to introduce you?'

Before she could answer Maria linked their arms and dragged Kaitlyn over to a quieter corner of the party. There were three girls already sitting down; a blonde, one brunette and one girl with black hair. They were talking animatedly about something, and the more passionate one of them had a British accent that you wouldn't forget for a while.

'Come on, I thought everybody did it in high school?' the British one said.

'Bad girls do it in high school,' said the blonde.

'Then what do good girls do?' asked the girl with the black hair.

'They say I love you, then they do it,' said Maria as she pulled Kaitlyn down with her to sit next to them.

'This is Kaitlyn. She's a freshman.'

'Layla,' said the British girl.

'Tiffany,' said the blonde with a sickly sweet smile.

'Rosa,' said the girl with black hair. She was beautiful, Kaitlyn noted.

'What are you studying?' asked Tiffany.

'Classics,' said Kaitlyn, 'But I may change it. I'm not sure yet.'

'What else would you do?' asked Rosa.

'Maybe art history.'

'You sound smart,' said Tiffany with another smile. Kaitlyn was worried she'd be blinded by the end of the night.

'Thanks. Which of you are freshmen?'

'Tiffany and I,' said Rosa.

'Layla and Tiffany are from the same neighbourhood back home,' said Maria, handing Kaitlyn a different drink. Vodka and cranberry, as it happened. Kaitlyn decided that she may as well drink it; it'd be rude not to.

'Never mind,' said Rosa, smirking. 'Where were we?'

'Sex,' said Tiffany bluntly, looking unimpressed. 'Do we really have to talk about this again?'

'Just because you have nothing to talk about…' said Rosa with a giggle.

Kaitlyn swallowed, hoping they wouldn't drag her into their conversation. She had zero experience in that department, but it wasn't for lack of wanting to. She'd grown up with the opinion that it didn't need to be special; her parents were married but they hated each other, and she'd definitely heard them doing it before so it clearly didn't matter whether you loved the person or not.

'Kaitlyn?'

'Hm?'

'Leave her alone, Rosa,' said Maria. 'You'll scare her away.'

'Alright,' said Rosa. 'But I'm just saying. Did you ever see that movie, though? Forty year old virgin? Do you want to be that guy?'

Tiffany rolled her eyes. 'I'm eighteen.'

'Coincidentally the number of people Rosa's slept with,' said Layla.

They all laughed, including Rosa, and Kaitlyn had to admire how well Rosa could laugh at herself. Kaitlyn certainly couldn't do that.

'Do you think anyone in here is a virgin?' Layla asked. 'Except Tiffany, here.'

'I'm waiting for the right guy,' said Tiffany with confidence. 'Doesn't bother me how long I have to wait.'

'What if you have to wait until you're fifty?' asked Maria, pulling a face.

'There are other means,' said Rosa.

They laughed again, but Kaitlyn felt herself getting a little uncomfortable with the discussion. It was all fine and dandy that they could talk so freely, and quite nice actually, but Kaitlyn didn't want to be involved in it when she had nothing to say. She spotted Miz across the room once again. He'd been looking at her.

'I don't really think it has to be special,' said Kaitlyn suddenly. They all looked at her. 'It just doesn't seem worth stressing about.'

'You'd do it with anyone?' said Tiffany, looking shocked.

'Not just anyone, someone I know and who's the same age obviously. But other than that, as long as they're not an asshole about it, it doesn't bother me whether or not I love them.'

'Good for you,' said Rosa. 'I like you.'

Kaitlyn titled her drink in a show of thanks. She looked over at Miz again. He was still smiling; maybe he'd heard it all.

'What about the guys here?' said Layla then, eyeing Kaitlyn. 'Which of them would you go for?'

Layla looked between Kaitlyn and Miz, and Kaitlyn felt a challenge had been extended to her. She wasn't someone who wanted to throw her virginity away, of course, but if he liked her and she liked him then why not?

Kaitlyn drank what was left of her drink in one mouthful, and then proceeded to drink another one right after. Next she took some shots, and before she knew it she was on her way over to Miz. The girls began whispering, giggling even, and encouraged her to 'get it'. All of them but Layla, who looked thunderous after Kaitlyn gestured for Miz to follow her. She headed for the bedroom. On her way she grabbed an empty cup and splashed some vodka and coke in there.

'Is Layla your girlfriend?' she asked, smiling at him. Mike shook his head. Kaitlyn finished her drink again. She had no idea how much she could handle in the space of ten minutes.

'Good,' she said, grabbing the front of his shirt and kissing him hard on the mouth. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, but just as his hands started to roam, Kaitlyn stopped him.

Breathless, she took his hand and made for the door.

'I'm not doing it at this party,' she said, grabbing her coat. 'My place?'

He nodded, kissed her again, then followed her out of the door.

They crashed through the door to Kaitlyn's room not long later, slamming it behind them. Kaitlyn pulled Miz's shirt up over his head, kissing his chest in the meantime, before he reclaimed her lips with his own. Next off was Kaitlyn's shirt, then her pants and then his too.

She didn't realize how much she would enjoy this, and boy was she enjoying it.

* * *

_Hope you liked chapter one! Come back for more x_


	2. Not Interested

_Enjoy this one! There's some new faces to get to know..._

***  
Not Interested**

Flashes of the night before woke Kaitlyn the following morning. Her eyes were stuck shut with mascara, though she managed to open them eventually. She was in her room, her clothes were flung over the chair at her desk and the place was a mess. There were empty vodka bottles, knocked over plastic cups and spilled drinks littered around the floor.

Mike groaned in his sleep beside her, and she craned her neck to look at him. His arm was woven around her stomach, which she didn't like to admit felt nice, and the other was under her pillow. He breathed slowly, in and out, but didn't wake just yet. Kaitlyn blinked, just to be sure it wasn't a dream, then gently lifted the covers to get a look at herself underneath.

Just wearing a bra.

So it happened.

She tried to peek at Mike under the covers too but he rolled over, groaning again as he woke up. He seemed to take a moment to adjust, and when he did he looked around regrettably at her. He smiled nevertheless and sat up in bed.

'My head hurts,' he mumbled.

Kaitlyn nodded in agreement.

'Do you remember anything from last night?' he asked then, rubbing his eyes and not catching the look of embarrassment on her face.

'Me?' she feigned confusion. 'No,' she lied. 'Just that we drank a lot, then we crashed here.'

Mike frowned and looked her up and down. He spied the fact that she was wearing a bra, but thankfully he couldn't see further under the sheets. He threw the cover off himself and stood up. Kaitlyn braced herself for the sight, but he was wearing a pair of boxers.

She sighed in relief and hugged the covers. 'I feel so fragile.'

'Same. I think I'll head back to my room and sleep for, I don't know, forever.'

Kaitlyn nodded; she was perfectly agreeable to him getting out of there as quickly as possible. He dressed quickly, then moved around the bed to her. He gave her a kiss on the lips. 'I had fun last night. Shame I passed out right after we got back here.'

Kaitlyn swallowed. 'Yeah, shame. Don't worry about it.'

She didn't care enough to be upset. It did irk her, though, that he'd forgotten.

He went to the door, and just as he touched the handle it opened from the other side. There stood a beautiful blonde, dressed head to toe in designer.

'Small world,' said Mike, standing aside for the girl to come in. 'Catch you later, Kaitlyn.'

Kaitlyn waved him goodbye, then promptly tried to bury herself in the covers.

'Oh no you don't,' said the blonde girl as she marched into the room, closing the door behind her. 'You're not getting out of it that easy.'

Natalya sat down on Kaitlyn's bed and dragged the covers away. She fixed her with an expectant stare and waited. Kaitlyn only shook her head.

'What was that?' Natalya prodded.

'That,' said Kaitlyn, snatching the covers back. 'Was my first time.'

* * *

'Do you even like the guy?' Natalya asked in an accusatory tone. She hadn't eaten a bite of her food yet. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn was on her second round of fries.

Kaitlyn shrugged. 'He was nice.'

'That's not what I mean,' said Natalya. 'I mean do you like him? _Like_, like him.'

Kaitlyn furrowed her eyebrows. 'What?'

'You know what I mean.'

Kaitlyn slumped in her seat. 'I don't want to talk about it anymore, alright? I mean it. It's my body and I can do what I like, alright Judgy?'

'Judgy? That sounds about right.' A guy stopped by the end of their table.

'Get lost, Wade,' said Natalya, eyeing the Englishman with disgust.

Kaitlyn looked up and got a good look at him. He was tall – very tall, in fact. Kaitlyn supposed he might play for the football team. His nose looked like it'd been broken several times, but it didn't take away from his handsomeness.

'So rude,' said Wade, before joining his friends at another booth.

'Who was that guy?' asked Kaitlyn.

Natalya rolled her eyes and picked up her fork, ready to dig in to her burger. 'Let's talk about something else.' Her eyes darted to the door suddenly and she paused. 'Like AJ.'

Kaitlyn felt herself go cold as she turned slightly to catch a glimpse of the girl she desperately wished hadn't walked in.

'Oh no,' Kaitlyn muttered, turning back and putting her head in her hands.

'Relax,' said Natalya. 'She's leaving again. Who's that guy she's with?'

'How should I know?' Kaitlyn said, craning her neck to have another look.

The boy's hood was up, covering his face, and he had his hands in the pockets of his oversized hoodie. He pulled the hood down a moment later, and tugged some headphones out of his ears that AJ apparently hadn't noticed. She was talking about something while the boy looked disinterested entirely. He looked up and caught Kaitlyn's gaze on him. She sent him a polite look, not too inviting, but he didn't return it. He merely turned around to order something from the counter. AJ continued to whiter on beside him.

'What's his problem?' Kaitlyn asked, picking at a fry.

'I don't even know who he is, but if I had to guess I'd say he might be the guy Randy was telling me about a few days ago.'

'Randy Orton?'

Natalya nodded. 'You remember him?'

'Yeah, I remember,'said Kaitlyn, smirking. 'Mom and Dad were pretty angry when I came back with a hickie on my neck, especially when pictures turned up on Facebook of us making out.'

'Ew,' said Natalya, pulling a face. 'He's nice enough, but I wouldn't want to get involved. Doesn't matter anyway, he has a girlfriend now. I remember your mother giving me an earful when I came home for Christmas break because of that, thank you very much.'

'I was surprised, too. I didn't think they'd realize I was gone.'

'Kaitlyn…'

'What? It's true. They barely knew I was around these last eighteen years. Not like Uncle Jimmy. He knew I was always having slumber parties with you for a reason.'

'Well he loves his niece,' said Natalya, smiling at her cousin. 'And we know your parents sort of suck sometimes. We just never say it.'

'I wish you would.'

'Never mind. You're here now.'

Kaitlyn smiled at the thought, though she wasn't sure how much of the smile was genuine. She was pleased to finally be away from her house, but was it really so much to ask for her parents to pay her a little attention every now and then?

'So what are you doing tonight?' Natalya asked, quickly sipping her drink. 'It better not be Mike Mizanin.'

'Okay, let's stop with that now. I wanted to do it, he was sweet, and I wanted to get it out of the way.'

Natalya frowned. 'You shouldn't want to 'get it out of the way' though. You should wait until you're really ready.'

'Maybe I was ready.'

'How do you know? You were a virgin this time yesterday,' said Natalya.

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes.

'Let's move on. Tonight I don't know what I'm doing. Might start on one of the very many books I have to read this semester.'

'Sensible choice,' mused Natalya. 'I'm going to dinner with Tyson before the year starts and we don't see much of each other.'

'Has he proposed yet?' Kaitlyn asked, feigning boredom. At the sight of her cousin blushing, she grinned. 'Seriously, it's been forever. Do you think he'll ask soon?'

'I don't want to think about it,' said Natalya, hiding a smile with difficulty. 'Just in case it doesn't happen.'

'Sensible choice,' Kaitlyn repeated with a smirk.

'Whatever. Just go home and read, I'll pay for this. You get the next one.'

'Alright. I'll see you tomorrow maybe?'

Natalya nodded. 'You should really make friends with people your own age though, Kaitlyn.'

Kaitlyn laughed. 'But I like hanging out with you, Grandma!'

Natalya's mouth dropped open but she didn't argue. Kaitlyn grabbed her things and made for the door. She looked back at Natalya as she left, giving her a quick smile, then headed back in the direction of her dorm room. It was a nice day. The weather was bright and warm, and Kaitlyn decided that it was time she properly showed herself around the campus grounds.

* * *

The first place full of people Kaitlyn came to was a small coffee shop, tucked away behind the sporting grounds. It was bursting with people, but it was still quiet; people were dotted around the tables, reading books, writing and some people sketching. It was a quiet place by the looks of it, not the kind of place you'd come in a large group. The décor was something, with old leather arm chairs and wooden floors, then colourful wallpaper. Kaitlyn liked it. She checked she had some dollars left from lunch with Natalya, then made her way in and ordered a vanilla latte.

'I'll get that,' said a male voice from behind Kaitlyn.

She turned around to tell whoever it was that she could buy her own drink but forgot all words save one when she saw who it was.

'Hi,' she said, giving him a coy smile.

John Cena. Star football player from her high school, a year older, attractive. Kaitlyn had a well-documented crush on the jock throughout almost all of high school, and he knew all about it of course. He was friends with Natalya's boyfriend, Tyson, and the four of them had hung out before. Tyson had let slip that Kaitlyn was crushing hard on him. Come to think of it, she hadn't paid him back for that yet.

'Hi,' he said, wrapping his arms around her and lifting off the ground. 'Natalya told me you were coming here this fall. It's good to see you.'

'You too,' said Kaitlyn when she was back on solid ground.

'What are you studying?'

'Classics.' Kaitlyn took her drink from the girl behind the bar.

'Hey John,' the girl said with a smile.

'Hey Mickie, how's things? Randy good?'

'Randy's great,' she replied, beaming.

She must have been the girlfriend Natalya had mentioned. Mickie headed off to serve some other people, so Kaitlyn and John found themselves a table towards the back of the café where they could talk without getting glares for disrupting the silence.

'So classics, huh? I always knew you were a smart kid.'

'You make it sound like I'm five,' said Kaitlyn, taking the first sip of her latte.

'Sorry,' he said. 'But it's true. How are you liking your dorm and stuff?'

'It's fine. I'm living alone, which is nice. My roommate never showed, but I'm not complaining. I get more room, can be as loud as I like and can invite whoever I want over.'

'Yeah,' he said with a knowing look. 'I heard you were at Mike's last night.'

Kaitlyn pursed her lips. She felt she knew where this was going.

'I didn't make it to the party until late, and by that time Mike had disappeared with 'some chick who couldn't keep her hands off him'… you know her?' he asked, looking amused.

'Who told you that?'

'A girl I know.'

'Was her name Layla, per chance?'

John smirked. 'She's a loudmouth, but she's pretty harmless.'

'She sounds it. I met her last night at the party. A girl called Maria introduced me to her and some other freshman girls.'

'Did you like them?'

Kaitlyn nodded. 'Rosa and Tiffany, they're freshmen too, were fine. Rosa's pretty open about things, and Tiffany seemed sweet. Maria was cool.'

'What about Layla?' The amused look hadn't fallen from his face.

'She wasn't happy when I went over to Miz, and she definitely wasn't happy when he and I left together if she's been telling people about it. But I'm sure she's harmless,' said Kaitlyn dryly.

'Maybe not totally harmless,' he admitted, and then looked more serious. 'Be careful with that guy. He's a friend but… he's not great with girls.'

'I'm fine.'

'Alright.'

'So what about you?' said Kaitlyn, desperate to change the subject. 'You the star of the football team here, too?'

'If I was would you still have a crush on me?' Kaitlyn laughed, but felt a blush in her cheeks nonetheless. John went on, 'I'm on the football team, yeah. We're pretty good. We've got some new players coming in this year and they're pretty good. One of them is British and he's brutal.' Kaitlyn had a feeling she knew who he might have been.

'We have a friendly coming up, actually, before the season kicks in. You should come.'

'Maybe I will,' she said.

'Maria's a cheerleader, so she'll be there. You won't be alone.'

'I'm sure I could drag Natalya along to watch with me.'

'Good luck with that,' John took a sip of Kaitlyn's drink and smiled. 'I've struggled to get her to come to a lot of them.'

'She likes football, though.'

'That's what I thought. I don't think she likes seeing her baby Tyson get hurt. The game's next week.'

'Awesome,' said Kaitlyn, snatching her drink back from him. She pulled out her phone and passed it over to him. 'Put your number in there and we can hang out some time. While you're at it put Maria's in too. I could get to know her better, I think.'

'Yes, sir,' said John, typing away.

'And hey, what is it exactly about Mike that I should stay away from?'

'Just don't think you can be the one to change him. I've seen girls try and fail, and I'm not taking away from them. They're great, it's just him.'

'Was Layla one of them?'

'They dated last year for all of two months before he bottled it.'

'Huh,' said Kaitlyn. 'Something tells me she's still a little territorial.'

'Layla's a spitfire,' said John, and for a moment there appeared to be a look of fondness on his face. 'You just have to get to know her.'

'Why would I when she's telling people about what happened with Miz and I like it's her business?'

'Miz?'

'Michael Mizanin is a bit of a mouthful, so I call him Miz. He's okay with it.'

'I'm sure he is,' said John. He handed her back her phone. 'Hang out with Maria, she's great. And if you ask I'm sure she could shed some light on Layla and Mike, if you're interested.'

'I'm not interested,' said Kaitlyn defensively.

John smirked. 'Clearly.'

* * *

_Come back for more! x_


	3. A Brutal Game

_Here's three! We meet three new guys here, and they're a touch... protective._

***  
A Brutal Game**

Kaitlyn sat down in her first class of the year with a positive mind set. She wanted to take in as much as she could. She'd already read Homer's Odyssey several times already which, granted, hadn't earned her many friends at school, but she couldn't wait to see what her professor would come up with about it. He strode in not long later, and the first thing Kaitlyn noticed was how handsome he was. She hoped all her professors looked the same.

'Good afternoon, class,' he said with a smooth, Spanish accent. 'I am professor Del Rio, and I'll be taking the class this year. Like you, it's my first time around so we'll see how we go…' He trailed off as he looked around room, settling his gaze on a girl sitting near the back. She was a few seats down from Kaitlyn.

He looked away and went about getting his things out of his book bag. Kaitlyn craned her neck slightly to get a better look at the girl. It was Rosa. She turned and caught Kaitlyn's gaze. She wrote her a quick note and passed it along for Kaitlyn to read.

_Hands off x_

Kaitlyn looked back, curious, and Rosa winked. She wrote a second note.

_Wanna get a drink after class? _

Kaitlyn agreed and turned her attention back to their professor, who had instructed them to pull out their copies of the Odyssey. The lesson was more of an introduction to the course, and he wanted to give them a taster of what to expect in the year. They discussed the writing, the author and the message for a while, before breaking off into two groups to quickly assemble an argument for a topic he'd given, and then put it to the other group. Rosa was in the other, winning, group.

'I didn't take you for a classics major,' Kaitlyn said as they gathered their things at the end.

'Nobody does,' said Rosa as she whipped her hair back over her shoulder. 'So where should we go? Downtown or to the bar on campus?'

'The bar?' said Kaitlyn, glancing at the clock above the door as they left the classroom. 'It's midday.'

'Ample time to start a martini. So, bar on campus?'

Kaitlyn chuckled. 'Sure, but I don't know how much I'll be drinking after the weekend.'

'For what it's worth, I'd have done it too.' She held a door open for Kaitlyn and they made their way out into the grounds. The sun was shining and Rosa retrieved a pair of expensive-looking sunglasses from her bag. Kaitlyn had to make use of her hand to shield her eyes.

'Mike's hot, and he's friendly.'

Kaitlyn agreed.

'He's got a bad reputation, but it's all just words.'

'Sure.'

'We should be allowed to do what we like, with who we like, and forget the consequences.'

Kaitlyn had a feeling they weren't talking about Mike anymore, and was taken back to the way Del Rio has looked at Rosa at the beginning of the class.

'Don't you agree?' said Rosa.

Kaitlyn nodded; she didn't want to get herself in too deep when she didn't know what she was really agreeing with.

They arrived at the student union building a little while later, and Rosa headed off to make a quick phone call. She left Kaitlyn at the bar to get them some drinks, telling her which bar tender to ask. One of them was apparently a friend of the Latina's and had no problem selling alcohol to underage girls. As she waited by the bar, Kaitlyn scanned the room for any sign of someone she knew. She froze when she saw AJ sitting in a booth at the back of the room. Luckily the girl hadn't noticed her. Kaitlyn kept her eyes forward and her head down.

'You look like you're avoiding someone.'

Kaitlyn looked to her left. It was the guy she'd seen AJ with a couple of days earlier. He didn't have a hoodie on this time, just a white t-shirt and some blue jeans. His arms were covered in tattoos of every variety. When Kaitlyn caught herself staring, she looked up at his face instead. He had a nice smile, even if it was a little arrogant.

'You know exactly who I'm avoiding, and you're only going to draw attention to me.'

'I'm avoiding someone too,' he said, leaning on the bar and ducking his head. 'Is it really that hard to find peace and quiet on a college campus?'

'Yes. Seriously, can't you avoid whoever it is somewhere else? She'll see me.'

'Why so scared?'

Kaitlyn tried to catch the attention of the right bartender but failed.

'I'm Phil,' said the guy next to her.

'Kaitlyn.'

'I know,' he said easily. She sent him a quizzical look and he answered. 'AJ's told me about you.'

'Great. But there's two sides to everything –'

'I really don't care.'

Kaitlyn was taken aback by this and turned herself fully to face him. She got a good look at his cocky face and decided that maybe his smile wasn't even that nice. He in turn looked around at her and they stood in silence for a moment, figuring each other out; baiting one another.

'What do you want?' Kaitlyn asked.

'Like I said, I'm avoiding someone too. Same person, actually.'

'AJ? Aren't you together?'

He laughed. 'No.'

Kaitlyn felt offended at the laughter, but she couldn't put her finger on why. He poured himself a glass of water from a nearby jug. He offered her one too but she shook her head.

'Why are you avoiding her?' Kaitlyn asked, curious.

'Because I avoid people,' he said, before drinking his water in one gulp.

'What does that mean?'

Before he answered, he looked past her and decided to make a hasty exit. He grabbed his jacket from the barstool beside him and darted towards the door, mumbling a goodbye in the meantime. Kaitlyn watched his retreating back until it disappeared, then decided to take the plunge and look around at what she knew had driven him away. AJ was watching her from the booth, her eyes dark with something Kaitlyn's couldn't identify. Kaitlyn looked away and prayed for Rosa's quick return. When she finally arrived AJ had gone, and Kaitlyn decided that she could in fact use a drink.

* * *

Kaitlyn met her across-the-hall neighbours for the first time that afternoon. She heard repeated banging next door on her way back from the bar and had thought she'd better check it out. After knocking three times, she was finally answered by a guy who had a similar hair to her own. She pictured it as a movie; two long lost twins reuniting by chance, their only clue being their matching blonde and brown two-tone hair.

'Nice hair,' he said, as if on cue, though his tone wasn't particularly complimentary.

'I heard noises, just thought I'd make sure you're all alive…' She waited for him to give his name, but he didn't. He was joined at the door by two other guys. One was taller, of Samoan descent, Kaitlyn guessed, and he looked a little thuggish. The other was smaller than him, but broader than two-toned hair guy. He had an odd look on his face, one that Kaitlyn couldn't pin point. It was somewhere between eccentric and unstable.

'I'm Dean,' said the one with the concerning look. 'This is Seth,' he pointed to two-tone. 'And this is Roman,' he gestured to the Samoan, who Kaitlyn pictured as the heavy, cleaning up the other two's messes.

'Kaitlyn. Like I said, I heard weird noises –'

'We were working out,' said Dean, unwrapping black tape from around his hands and wrists.

'What were you doing?'

'What's it to you?' said Roman. Kaitlyn grimaced.

'Just curious as to what makes three grown guys grunt in such a way that I can hear it through the walls…' She knew the tone would pay off.

'We were kick boxing,' said Seth. 'And wrestling.'

'In there?' Kaitlyn pointed behind them at what looked to be a small dorm, but when the door opened further she saw it was in fact a student apartment. 'Wow,' she said, impressed. 'Do you guys pay extra for this?'

She wandered in without being invited but they didn't haul her out again, so she continued onward.

'No,' said Seth.

'Are there four of you?'

'There were,' said Roman. Kaitlyn stopped to wonder if they'd murdered the other guy, but knew it was very unlikely. Probably.

'He left,' said Dean, looking bored. 'Didn't like college so he dropped out.'

'Classes only started today,' said Kaitlyn, shocked.

'You smell like you've been drinking. Will you be next?' said Seth, smirking.

Kaitlyn decided it was time she left, before things got awkward, and pulled out her phone to text Maria as she'd planned.

'See you around,' she called over her shoulder.

'Bye,' said Seth, but the other merely grunted and Roman closed the door with a bang.

* * *

'They call them the Shield,' said Maria as she and Kaitlyn found a spot in the stands. Training was about to begin. Her boyfriend waved at her from the pitch.

'The Shield?' Kaitlyn repeated. 'Why's that?'

'Watch and you'll find out.'

Maria handed her a juice carton and they turned their attention to the pitch. The coach blew his whistle and the teams lined up, though it was only a practice session today. Kaitlyn spied John in the offensive line-up. Dean, Seth and Roman all stood opposite him, waiting for the quarterback to snap the ball.

As soon as he did John was away, ready to tackle him, but Dean, Seth and Roman came together as an immovable object, warding off any and all players that came for their quarterback. The coach called the whistle as the quarterback threw a pass to his receiver and they scored.

'That's impressive,' said Kaitlyn.

'Yeah,' said Maria. 'Christian always goes on about how much the team sucked before they came to the school last year.'

'Christian's a junior, right?'

'Mhm. See the quarterback? That's Cody Rhodes. Total player, thinks the sun shines out of his own ass.'

'They can't have sucked that much if he throws like that. John's awesome, too.'

'Two people don't make a team, and you're only as strong as your weakest member.'

'Deep words,' said Kaitlyn, smirking.

'Yeah, well, when you start dating a football player you'll pick it up, too.' Kaitlyn saw the way Maria was eyeing her and frowned.

'What?'

'Oh come on, we've been here ten minutes and you still haven't said a word about Mike Mizanin.' Kaitlyn hadn't even realized he was on the pitch, and as soon as she did she couldn't look.

Maria wasn't finished. 'Did you… you know?'

Kaitlyn scoffed. 'Hasn't Layla already been spreading the word about that one?'

'Even if she has, I want to hear it from you. I prefer the truth.'

'And who says it's your business?'

'No one,' said the redhead. 'But who else are you gonna talk to about it?'

'I have my cousin, although she's pretty judgy.'

'I meant here on campus.'

'She is here, it's Natalya Neidhart –'

'Natalya's your cousin? I thought you looked familiar when I saw you.'

'It's not a huge resemblance.'

'It's there though.' Maria smiled. 'I like Natalya, she's a good friend. But yeah, she can be judgemental.'

'You've been on the receiving end of it too?'

'Of course! What are friends for?' Maria giggled. 'When I started dating Christian last year she was telling me 'no, no, you can't do that, he's a bad boy,' but I went ahead and did it anyway. She was wrong about him.'

Kaitlyn nodded along. 'Sounds like her. She's just protective.' She fell into thought, and memories of their childhood flashed before her. Then it was middle school, then high school and everything that happened with AJ…

'Kaitlyn?'

'Yeah?'

'What happened with you and Mike?'

'Oh,' Kaitlyn paused for a moment to think it through. She liked Maria, and Maria and Natalya were friends, and Kaitlyn thought they could be friends too. She went for it. 'We had sex.'

'You did?' She didn't look too shocked; Kaitlyn wasn't sure how she felt about that. 'Was it good?'

'Good as a first time can be.'

'It was your first time? Oh sweetie if we'd have known we would have made Rosa shut up right away at the party.'

'No, don't be stupid,' Kaitlyn said. 'I wanted to do it.'

'Well good for you.' Maria gave her a smile that begged for more. 'So was it good?'

'He was… fine. He was great, I think, but by the time we actually got in to doing it I was pretty wrecked.' Maria pulled a face and Kaitlyn shook her head. 'That's not even the worst part; he doesn't remember it happened.'

Maria's mouth dropped open. 'What?'

'He left the next morning, apologizing for crashing out right after we got to my dorm. He remembers nothing.' Maria looked sympathetic but Kaitlyn went on, 'No, I'm fine. If anything this is better. There's no awkwardness. It happened and now it's over and I'm glad it happened. Now I can just go on and not be afraid of crossing that milestone anymore.'

'I thought you said you wanted to do it,' said Maria. 'You were scared?'

Kaitlyn shrugged. 'What's Layla's deal with Miz? She looked like she wanted to kill me when I went to him at the party.'

'They dated briefly last year, but she's not really over it. To be honest she could do a lot better.' She realized her mistake. 'I'm sorry.'

The whistle blew on the field again and both girls turned to look. John was lying flat on his back, each members of the Shield climbing off him, one by one. The coach made his way over and began lecturing them as someone helped John to his feet.

'Brutal game,' said Maria.

'Sure is,' said Kaitlyn, though her thoughts were far away from football.

* * *

_Hope you liked it! Please review and come back for more! x_


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